


Killing Eve and fun with psychopaths

by Metabird (wheatear)



Series: Character archetypes [3]
Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: Character Analysis, Character Archetypes, Character Study, Charming Psychopaths, Embedded Video, F/F, Meta, Nonfiction, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, Spoilers, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:29:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheatear/pseuds/Metabird
Summary: Where Villanelle stands apart from all other fictional psychopaths is that the show itself is essentially one long love letter to her character. A meta analysis of Villanelle and her role in the narrative.
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Series: Character archetypes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655167
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Killing Eve and fun with psychopaths

**Author's Note:**

> This post is a combination of two pieces of meta I wrote about Villanelle, one after season 1 and one after season 2. Originally written for the halfamoon challenge at Dreamwidth.

I don't think I've ever seen a show give me everything I want in a villain in quite the same way as _Killing Eve_. Villanelle is the perfect example of what I would describe as a **charming psychopath**. These characters are typically attractive, charismatic, funny, manipulative and egotistical. They show absolutely no remorse when they kill people; in fact, they often delight in it. And yet despite all the terrible things they do, they're also terrifically entertaining. What makes Villanelle so fun?

Let's start with Villanelle as a character. One thing I love about her is how childish she is. This is where the show gets a lot of its humour. Exhibit A, from season 1:

  


And Exhibit B, from season 2:

  


Villanelle being childish makes sense on a number of levels. Being selfish and not considering others' feelings is a characteristic that psychopaths and very young children have in common. Think of toddlers throwing a tantrum when they don't get their way. That's Villanelle, except she's an adult with all the cunning, intelligence and ability a toddler doesn't have.  
  
She also uses it to present herself as harmless and cute. Her childishness can come across as charming. It's certainly funny. So while she is genuinely impulsive, she's also very good at seeming appealing in order to get her way.  
  
Thirdly, she lacks inhibitions. It comes across as childish because she'll act inappropriately but it's not that she doesn't understand social boundaries, she just doesn't care about violating them. In fact, she enjoys it.  
  
Finally, it's also a great way to show that everything is a game to her. People don't matter. Virtually everything Villanelle does is an effort to stave off boredom. That's why she gets her kicks from killing people. She takes pleasure in chaos and that's what makes her so unpredictable - and so fun to watch.  
  
She doesn't have any grand goals or ambitions. She's literally just out to have fun. One of the most interesting things about Season 2 imo was the way it portrayed the darker side of this character trait: Villanelle is _bored_. Not bored in an everyday, mundane way, but existentially bored.

  


Because she doesn't care and she doesn't feel, nothing matters and nothing is fulfilling. She does horrific things just to feel something. While all of this is packaged in a very entertaining way, I thought it was great that Season 2 also showed more of the despair, the loneliness and ultimately the emptiness inherent in Villanelle's life.  
  
It's easy to feel for her even knowing that she's a monster. In the above clip she's putting on a show for Eve and manipulating her while apparently revealing something about herself. It's never clear how sincere she is about anything. There are layers and layers of complexity going on here. What a great character elevated by a fantastic performance.

So that's the character. But what about her role in the wider narrative? Where Villanelle stands apart from all other fictional psychopaths imo is that the show itself is essentially one long love letter to her character. Despite the title, _Killing Eve_ is designed to show off Villanelle in all her petulant, unrepentant glory. The Season 2 trailer is a case in point:

  
It's all about Villanelle. Villanelle in her many outfits! Villanelle making snarky comments! Eve obsessing over Villanelle! The music, the stylish cinematography, the darkly comic tone: it's all Villanelle.  
  
Most examples of this character type are villains that provide a contrast to the world of the heroes. The story is about the heroes; you want the heroes to win. But _Killing Eve_ knew from the start that Villanelle is its best character and so the world of the show is constructed around her. Villanelle's clever, stylish murders are elaborately set up and we see them unfold in every episode. There is no particular encouragement to feel sympathy for (most of) her hapless victims; rather we admire the efficiency and beauty of her work. The MI6 agents hunting down Villanelle are amusingly incompetent. And, crucially, the protagonist Eve is obsessed with Villanelle too; her feelings for Villanelle reflect the way the audience is meant to feel about her. Eve is the audience surrogate, the viewpoint character. Eve's attraction is the show's attraction. The mutual fascination they have with each other is what allows us to root for them together.  
  
In other words, it's all in the presentation.  
  
There are charming psychopaths in numerous works of fiction. But _Killing Eve_ is the only thing I've watched where the _show itself_ is a manifestation of that charm. It's dark, funny, stylish, gleefully violent, sexy and full of mind games. The show is Villanelle. Villanelle is the show.


End file.
